Life Among the Aborigines of
TIIHOWINO TIIU IIOOMKUANO
BK1S1IANK, Auatralla, May Z'J.
(Special Corroipoudotico of The
Ileo.) Thero aru now lesa than
UU.OUO aborigines left In Australia
and of these "O.OCU are In thu
Htutu of (jiieeiiHlaud, where this letter lb
dated. I saw no natives In Tasmania.
There aru only r.O.'i In the statu of Victoria
and only about S.OUU In New South Wales.
South Australia has been less develuped
lmii thu eustern states and It has 23,000,
while the vast desert regions uf western
Australia are s.ild to have somethlug Ilko
d,U00. Ttu-st. figures, of cntirr, nro not ab
nulutuly iiLeuratu. Thu uborlglues live In
tho wilds and In thu vast regions of un
expired Australia no ouu can tell how
many tlieru are Thu only pure natives I
have seen weru In some uf tho towns along
thu northeast toast of Queensland uud my
Information comes largely from travelers,
uxplururs and thu colonial governments.
Many of my photographs havu been fur
nished by thu governments of Queensland
and Now South Wales from the collections
taken by tho uftlclal uxplururs.
Mutt Ilie "llllli'l. I'VIIomk" I.imiI..
Thu peoplu heru call tho aborigines
blacks" uud "black fellows." They some
time uso tho word negro, but tho few na
tives I havu st on wero chocolate brown
rather than black. Thulr hair was curly,
but not woolly and they had not thu thick
lips nor tho very Hut noses of thu Afrlcau.
Some of thu aborigines are iiultu lino look
ing; they are straight and well formed, al
though gem rally lean and scrawny. In
Townsvllle 1 saw u nutlvu girl about 18
yeurB old who looked tnoru llko a mulatto
thuu u negro. Sho had high check bones,
u slightly receding chin nnd u big mouth
and her lmlr was glossy, Btuooth and fine.
Still shu wns by no means bad looking tor
a "gin" and would havu passed muster
among u mixed crowd of colored peoplu
from our southern stntes.
This girl had on European clothes. In
tho Interior parts of north Australia tho
ll.VUK SHE1.TEK OF
uuuve. wear no c ollies whatever. IJoth men
and wo.nuti go naked, or at last have only
u few ornaments In their hair, turns and
ears, wl h perhaps a string or two about
tho waist. In northwestern Queensland
tuo natives uso belts of human hair ilur.
in. ,...rt,i., . .,
uMvorZuu', t 'Uy U"
1 """" wim puim. niey some-
.lines navo grass neck nn uml iri.,t-
. ,. .
0 opossum skins about their shoulders.
Thoy tio bands about their hair to keep
It from fulling Into their eyes and for tho
"o reusons soak It stlif with fat or clay.
Ilulr greuso Is everywhere Drofimelv iih.m)
...... .i m .,ut .,,.Vu,iii.iuii ior a name 10 giu
himself a coat of llsh oil whenever ho can
and It Is not uncommon for a native to give
gut It. This envelopes him In a rancid
Hlllell wllloh U vi.rv fT...,ol... . 1....
",: , . i" 1.UIUIH.-.UIJ. -......o ... . Biwiis nnvrever wiey ,s liutlters they cateh th - larL-il innn.
I ho mothods of halrdresslng vary. Tho ,p. starting a new village at each stop- without llreur.ns. They trap emus hu t
l.ulr Is oUh bound up with cloths and tho PlnB place In traveling the women carry g lhvm with native dogs, driving them
uwivo ... niu niiiiKiiiou are bo las
tened to It that thoy hang down over the
ears. In some parts knngaroo teeth are
fastuned to tho forelocks, so that the)
hang down and rest on tho forehead be
tween the eyebrows, About Port Uarwm
In northwestern Australlu tho men uud
women uso nosu plus, some of which are leu
Inches long. Thu nose Is pierced In the
center and, being pulled down, these pins
uro thrust through so that they stand out
fur tlvo Inches cn each side tho nostrils.
Some of thu pins are made of turkey bones
and others of kangaroo or emu bones.
Sometimes panot quills are used, tho
bright-colored feathers extending out on
each sldo tho nostrils. Some of thu na
tives plerco their ears, using kangaroo
bones as plugs.
Ni'iiro an Oriiiiiiii-iiio
Amotii; tnu queer forms of ornamentation
nro tho scarring and cuttlqg of tho bod
Neatly every native has moru or less scurs
upon him, and tho blgsfr the scars ;ha
'.litter they like It. 1 refer to ornamental
scars, for many of tho womec aru scamd
by the punishments Inlllcieil upon them by
fiolr husbands. As to tho ornamental scct
rla. this Is done as a matter of beauty.
The akin Is voluntarily cut with Hints or
shells, powdered charcoal la dusted In and
tho wounds are kept open for niouthb
When they heal they leave ridges on the
biHly ns thick as your linger. These scars
nro found on the back and chest, and on
tho biceps muscles. They are sometimes
on the thighs and stomachs. Among other
tribes little pieces of skin are cut out to
make scars, the victims yelling with pain
during the operation.
As to the scars of thu women, these are
often made by the men In way of punish
ment. They look upon the women as their
slaves, and when angry club them, and cut
them with their tomahawks and spears.
It tho woman Is killed It makes little dif
ference, for she Is looked upon as tho prop
erty of the man who supports her. and a
man may do what he likes with his own.
Cliiiiu-f fur I lie m Woman,
There Is no plncu In the world where tho
uw womnu could work to better advan-
tuge thuu among these aborigines. I doubt
whuther there are people In the wilds of
Africa who treat the women so badly. The
wife Is the plaything and slavo of her hus-
band. She has no rights that nny man Is
bouud to respect, nnd If caught away from
homo auy man will maltreat her. As a
daughter she Is sold or given away by her
rnthor or brothers, and after marriage she
Is n drudce and slave. Tho husband can
lend or give his wlfo nwny. He can forbid
some trlbea sho Is not allowed to exchange
a word with hor grown-up brothers. Sho
is often a brldo at the ago of 10. and there
aro few native girls who are not married
before they reach 16. Thero are. I am
told, many bachelors, but no old maids
for even an ugly girl can work, and a man
has tho right to as many wives as he can
AN AUORICilNK.
KOt. Ho leaves all his work to his wives
d the more wives ho ha. tho richer bo Is
When a man dies his wldB go to his
oldest brother, who can keep them or din-
poso of them, as ho pleases. Tho elder
i,r,.n,,.r n. ii.. . i
" hi- nnn ur iniuo
0" hU '"8,0r8 nn, ,h0 sn,,u, r,", Mnv
to tho father, who often trades the females
.1... ,...... .... ...
" iimiiij iur Hues lor nis sous.
..., ,. , . ,
...it utrrH)
The native woman of Australia c,n
complain that all tho professions of her
.r,b0..a.r.U T?.. ! Uc.r- 3110 J8 "
" irom uuiiuing tne nouso to get-
ting tho food and nursing the bal.v. Mt
of the tribes are nomadle. Thev h.ilM nt.
II.. ll.,ro t ...i. ... .1.1... ...i ... ... .
ONK 01' THE MOST lUL-THEATKl) WOMEN IN THE WOHLD-HEIl SCAHS WEKP
MADE UY II EH HUSBAND,
all thu bl'lonirlniTH nf fhn fnmllv Tln.v urn
laden down llko puck horses and walk along
ueui over ueniuu ineir nusoands, who,
perhaps, carry nothing but tholr boomer-
uuu eiuus. as soon us iney como to
11 now camu lho woman cuts the bark and
ljUllJs lhu nut- ho then goes out and digs
rools' ulcks and climbs the trees to
ehou ou' lt larvae of worms, which sho
took8 for breakfast. She often carries her
cnllJ her whllu at this work. laying
11 00 thu Bround as sho digs. Sho cuts
tue vsol1 anJ carries the water and when
8bo 'a1'8 behind she is usually sure of u
whipping. As a result of such treatment
sl0 e8 rapidly, her hair grows gray and
her face wrinkles and as a rule she dies at
al)out 30- Even tho men seldom live to bo
more than 50
What the ntica v.m.
h ,
1 " of aborlslnei are shorteued
"'T V P'nt, f lUte1""
? t ' v, S'V,d t0, B8 , 0W aS. aDy
?.f. tne 7rld aQj "ve and act
0er.er '' lban (brn b,0l?.83
elT,r "f 18 'art;eIy Vefi,e'ab'f' ,DC U,,ln
all sorts of roots. They thrash seeds out
ot utnerent kinds of grasses and collect
weeds, which they eat as wo do water
cress and lettuce. One of their favorite
dishes Is wild honey, which they find In the
hollow trees. They collect wild fruits aud
their bread is made ot grass seeds, moist
ened and ground between stones Into a
Hour This flour Is then made Into dough
nnd eaten either cooked or raw.
Among the curious viands of which they
aro fond are ants, wormi r.td snakes There
are ants all over Australia, and certain
varieties of them are caught by the aborlg
ines. The native stands upon an nnt hill nnd
stamps with his feet, whereupon tho anti
run up bis legs. After his shanks are well
coated he srrapes them oft and eats them
The larger kind of ants are roasted cr
dried in the sun.
Another dcllcacv Is the beetle, ulitrh U
consumed both In the worm or larva and
In the matured Insect.
picked out of the rotten trees and cooked
iu rcunoi asncs. f oreigners wno navo
eaten them say they are not at all bad nnd
th.1t thv Innlr and Inita mit.h lib. Bn
look and taste much like an
omelet.
Snakes of
eaueht n,i
roasted, and also lUards, especially the
Iguana. The luuana Is an enormoun llr.irrt
It Is eaten throughout South America and
has flesh much like that of a young chicken
Its eggs are a delicacy and are greedily
devoured by the savages.
ine natives are a so ronii or erassnon.
pers and locusts. There are sometimes
swarms of the Utter when the women
gathethem br tnV bketruTand the peo"
Pie have a great feast. They first throw
the grasshoppers Into the Are to burn off
the wing, and legs and then drag them .,
Northern Australia
ninl roast each grasshopper separately.
The lleBh ho prepared tostcs not unlike
roasted chestnuts.
Am lliinttTD ninl TrncUcrn.
ousiiunuiis ion me inai me nut ve
imve more stability than Is generally sup
posed. They show the pvillntlf'li nf rnnanti
The Australians toll ine that the mitlves
" . -----
i'uers ami are sucn excel out Iiunters
,, lrncUers ,. . nrL. lnr "!' 1"
- n--r
anytMng. Tluy' fcl ow "erl.nh a?, on'UrTe"
back and ulms, Invnrlnb I hem.
;r'.cre(lre now 121 such menu, the queens.
laud police force, each cf whom receives a
snlnrv nf t,n..t to .. .1 ... . 1, I,.
Mel. ' '
.
Intn tw.iu .....1 it ... ..
thu wilds tho hunters station themselves
near thu water holes uud wait until tho
emu comes down to drink Thev then ii'c
up a net across Its path, drlvo It In anil
when It has become entangled destroy It
with tholr spenrs, clubs or boumeranes.
They have a call by which they imltntu thu
voice of the emu, much us our mountuln-
cers do thut of the turkey in wild turkey
hunting. The emu whlstlu is mndo by
pounding on a piece of hollow log In such
a way that It gives forth n peculiar sound.
Sometimes a mau will cover himself with
bushes and thus snenk upon the emu and
kill him.
Kangaroos are caught In nets, nnd nro
"'so run down with dogs nnd spenrs. Tho
mnmu irap uirus ot nil Kinds nnd in all
sorts of ways.
They catch pigeons by
Gr thnm nn Ihnv alt
throwing nets over them ns thoy
about the water holes. They go Into the
W'Uter With bufihes nhnnt fhnfr f,nnrfa o.. .1
wa'er with bushes about their heads and
sneaK upon tne ducks r.nd cranes which
' ""'"iiig mere, irey also catch fish
, ? ncts and 80n,e'lnies poison the water
w"n certain plants and capturo the fish
as ihy rlso t0 tho 8,'rface. They catch
cat1ftBh l,y tramping through the streams
and. the fish undor their feet. In
8Ucn cases the natve kills the fish by bit-
Ing deeply Into the flesh Just back of the
i. . . . .. - .
J !' J nen throws it out upon the
bankVkn,0W1lDB tua' not wriggle It,
iDt ,he W3tfr' and
for more-
i'"' " "' CnnnllmU.
There I. no doubt but that the Australian
aborigines ure more or les ennnlbols, The
records show that thoy have always been
so, and that tho eutlng of human flesh ex
Ists In some parts of Australia today. Curl
Lumholtz, to whom 1 nm Indebted for soiiiu
of the Information In this letter, has
written a book, entitled "Among the Cnnnl-
L,IB piciunng nts travels throin 1 thn
I'liis, Picturing Ills trnes thrniiL.I. thn
mnma nf v. ... u . . .
" ! P.l..f...th.0 AU trn ln" orlglne.. The
n u 1 v . u in uu i ncurus also contain ltmtnnpPH
man!'
n nt towJZ uX'
t" I n' , " ....
..nthur 1 ,.. t,n 1 .1 . '
- . . .. fat. but the sight made him so
,u,,u ,,,at "u wa "ot t,l,k' cu.tlmie his
0 OS3T VU t lC IIS,
l.umhol . una thu mitlvm i i intK- lib .
'hu llesh uf a black man and tlmt nm- a,.ri
of a human being Is eaten na tho choicest
delicacy. Thero oro parts of this state of
Queensland where children who die sud
denly are roasted and there aru proofs
that native children have been killed for
food. In western Queensland tho llesh of
the puio blacks Is preferred, but half-casto
(hlldren nru rcasted and enten. It Is said,
however, that tho people do not earo for
white man's llesh, although they aru by no
mentis adverse to n rare bit of Chinaman.
Thero Is one Instnnco recorded of ten China
men being eaten at. one d.nner. nnd the
statement Is made that the preference for
such meat over that of tho white man Is
because tho white man ents animal food,
while tho Chlr.e e conHno themsolvis hugely
to rice and vegetables.
TlirowiiiK Hie IIimiiimtiiiik.
I bought several boomerangs thu other
day, paying about CO cents apiece for them.
They aro merely llttlo flat bows made of
wood, each about two Inches wide and from
twenty Inches to n yard long. They have
a natural twist In them, and nro so shaped
that v.hen thrown they return to the owner.
The natives display great skill In throwing
thorn, but do not, as I hud supposed, us
them to any extent ns a weapon of wnr.
For fighting and for all heavy hunting they
prefer spears and lances. They have spears
which weigh as much ns four or flvo
poundi, and vhlch oro eight or nine feet
In length. Some spears are barbed with
bone, Hint or Iron. Tho natives throw them
wlili great skill, and are so treacherous In
their use that tho explorer has to watch
out that ho docs not receive a spear In his
back. Tho boomerang Is sometimes used for
killing small birds, but It is to a large ex
tent a plaything.
(iliiiNt ami Witeh Dni'lorn,
As far as I can learn thu aborigines have
no Orent Father llko that of our Indians
although they bellevu In n futurn
happy hunting rounda. They have u groat
dreud of ghosts nm! demons and think that
ceitaln places, such as caves and" thickets,
co""ln P'nceB- "h as caves and thlckotB,
111 "J "'-"' ey navu wucn acc-
'Pf8 who curo tllelr ("8eases. Moh they
-.. iu iiiiio. mu uutiurs
pfeteml to loeatu tho 'lemon, and thoy suck
1 ,ces. of .00tl out r tho b"ay whero lhy
1 . y ,)011cvo ll,at "lost of tlle'r
wowi "ro "uo to 8orccry nni1 "'t certain
,I,IL'" Ca" c.aul.30 ot,lers 10 fa" 8lck and dl lf
y 80 wl8b- Thoy bcllovu t"01'" motllclnu
mt!" can ,,ml0 raln- a'' ''"''l thoin responsl-
, , t,lelr HufferlnB8- They havo all
H , charm8 to brlnB on and ward off
. 8DlrlU' nml of Ioto bttvo announced
" lf that tho whlto settlers are
'.. a nallve" c"'o to Ufa again, nnd that
y u'e,"KU'vcH will after death again ap-
' : " """"
" " nl"lu ul lIlc """rigino uepeuus
lurgoly on how ho Is burled, and the men
aro very careful to Inter their dend after
cortaln rites. As to tho women nnd chil
dren, thoy nro of no neenunt. nlthor ilnul
or nllve, nnd their remnlns nro usually
rolled up In rugs or between sheets nf balk
and thus burled. A woman will often carry
a dead child for a month before sho buries
It, laying tho body under her head nt night
and sleeping upon It, notwithstanding the
horriblo odor.
Inrer Mat IiiiiIm ul llurlnl.
Tho men nro imuully bundled up before
burial. Tho knees of the corpse nro forced
up to Its neck and tied there, tho nrms nro
tied to tho sides and tho cnlves forced up
to the thighs and there tied. Then n rug
or some pieces of bark nro fastened nbout
thu body nnd It Is burled three or four feet
deep in the sand, a mound covered wi'h
logs being erected above It.
In other parts of Australia cremation Is
practiced, while In other noctlons the dead
bodies are dried before tho lire until thoy
turn to mummies. Some tribes lay tho
dead out upon platforms In tho trees and
allow tho birds to clean tho bones, Just as
the l'nrsees do upon their Towers of Si
lence nt Ilombay. After this the bonos art
t ree
HUNK 0 CAIM'ENTER
InW flnf !, j t
' iv.iuiicu 1 1JI1C
Chlcago Tribune: "Dnn't move tho men,"
said tho Justice of the peace, rising from
tho checker board. "I have to step Into
0 "ecKcr 1ll0ar'1- "' "ve to step Into
.m ," cp , nn,d marry a couple, but I shall
l,,ai'k In flvo minutes."
. " m' eml of a "n"r ho hnd not ro-
,uriu'd- A messenger was sent for him.
, , .
7 n "lK" 8,at Persplra-
,l01' l oat oft. his necktie awry
To , rr- W",U,11 tryln
' ! " twcoupIes bearing these names'
" ln' slaw Kntzarzyiuynkowskl. Jozevln.
tlZZ! toinXtotoZ.
